Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Williamsburg, Brooklyn is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick, East Williamsburg, and Ridgewood, Queens to the east, and Fort Greene and the East River to the west. The area was named Williamsburg in 1802 after the surveyor Jonathan Williams, who also served as Superintendent of West Point. The area rapidly expanded during the first half of the 1800s and eventually seceded from Bushwick to form its own independent city. The population was originally heavily German, but Jewish immigrants arrived after the Williamsburg Bridge was completed. After World War II, many Jewish refugees from Hungary and Romania arrived, as did Hispanic immigrants from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. After the decline of heavy industry during the 1960s, unemployment, crime, gang activity, and illegal drug use rose in the neighborhood. From the mid-1990s onwards, gentrification led to Williamsburg improving, as well as becoming home to a hipster population, a contemporary art scene, and vibrant nightlife. In 2010, Williamsburg had a population of 32,926 people, with 86.2% being white, 10.5% Hispanic, 2.4% African-American, .1% Asian, and .5% other.